Why Google results beyond page 1 are missing from reports

In September 2025, you may have noticed that you could no longer track the keyword rankings beyond page 1 in your reports, or that the number of impressions you were getting from Google had dropped. To help you understand more about what’s happened and why, we’ve covered everything you need to know.

This article at a glance

• Why are search engine results beyond the first page no longer appearing in reports?
• How has the change by Google impacted reporting?
• What are the solutions for missing SEO ranking data beyond page 1?

Why are search engine results beyond the first page no longer appearing in reports?

Google removed something called the &num=100 parameter, which was a URL modifier that allowed users to view the top 100 results on a single page, as opposed to the usual 10 blue links you get by default.

We wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t come across it before Google made the change, and that’s because it was mainly used by third-party companies as part of their services (think keyword tracking tools and AI models).

Why was it removed?

Google has been quite coy about why it’s removed this feature, but there are a couple of reasons that would explain it:

It was costing Google a lot of money to accommodate AI models

Not many people know this, but AI companies (like OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT) use public information to develop their products, and website content is perfect fodder for it.

We won’t bore you with the complexities of how it all works, but basically, it was costing Google quite a bit of money to accommodate all these different AI companies, which were using the &num=100 parameter to quickly gain access to the top 100 webpages for a query, before accessing each page for training purposes.

Blocking the ability to access all this content in one go makes it more expensive for AI companies to access the information they need, meaning they request it less often (saving Google money in the process).

Google doesn’t want to feed direct competitors

You’ve likely encountered it, but in case you weren’t aware, Google has its own AI model, called Gemini. As you can imagine, Google wants its product to be the biggest and best, so blocking competitors from easily accessing resources to develop its own products is a no-brainer.

How has the change by Google impacted reporting?

You’ll be glad to know that the changes aren’t detrimental to website performance, and they won't negatively impact your bottom line. However, it will change the data you’re seeing, and you may have to rethink how you report on performance.

Organic impressions

If you use Google Search Console to monitor web performance, then you may have noticed a sharp drop in the number of impressions your site is receiving in search results.

Don’t worry, there’s nothing you need to worry about. Believe it or not, it’s actually a good thing, and that’s because impressions were being artificially inflated by those pesky AI models previously. So, although your impressions data is lower than it was previously, it’s actually a more accurate reflection of organic performance.

Keyword tracking

As we mentioned earlier, third-party SEO tools, like Ahrefs and SEMrush, used the top 100 results to give people insights into keyword rankings.

When the ability to view the top 100 results for a keyword or phrase disappeared, so did the ability of these tools to display tracking for keywords in the top 100. As a result, marketers have lost visibility into keyword rankings beyond the first page, which has caused several headaches, to say the least.

This doesn’t mean you’ve lost rankings or site performance; it just means you’ve lost an overarching view of your content’s rankings in organic search.

What are the solutions for missing SEO ranking data beyond page 1?

If you use third-party keyword tracking tools, we’d recommend having a rethink about the metrics you report on for site performance. For example, share of voice and engagement are cornerstones of modern site success, making them well worth including in your reports. 

If you do want to report on keyword rankings, then some tools, like Ahrefs, still report on ranking performance in the top 100 if you’re actively tracking them, so it would just be a case of setting that up.